36th Infantry Division headquarters conducts MIBT exercise

Story by: Spc. Christina Clardy

Posted On: June 16, 2016

The Texas Army National Guard division serves as the higher headquarters during this Multi-Echelon Integrated Brigade Training (MIBT) exercise for a brigade and several specialized units as they train to meet requirements for their annual training cycle. The exercise will be focused on maneuver-based, decisive action and will include critical gunnery training on various weapons systems. 

The exercise is designed to provide high-level combat training to Army National Guard brigade combat teams who did not attend a Maneuver Combat Training Center (MCTC) rotation. The two centers are the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk in Louisiana, and are specialized facilities that focus on strategic critical command processes and combat training prior to deployments. The MIBT is based on the same training methods in order to sustain readiness and maintain the capabilities of reserve and active-component forces. 

"The MIBT is designed to provide divisions and brigades the opportunity to train to specific training models when there are no Combat Training Centers available," said Maj. Gen. Lester Simpson, commanding general of the 36th Infantry Division. "Since Battle Command is a perishable skill, it requires frequent repetition, improvements and practice to maintain efficiency and capabilities."

The first MIBT was conducted in 2015 by Army National Guard units from New York, Vermont and Virginia, at Fort Drum, New York with the 42nd Infantry Division serving as the higher headquarters. Nine units and more than 5,000 Active and Reserve Component Soldiers from Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas will be participating during this year’s event. 

"For the division, our primary mission is to provide first class training opportunities for the brigade as they build and refine their staff processes and battle drills," said Simpson. "Many brigades are in states that do not have a division in it, so this exercise allows them to train directly with a higher headquarters."

Designed to maximize collective training and support increased unit readiness, the MIBT exercise is conducted during the standard two-week Annual Training period with minimal additional resources or funding. The use of localized training areas, in this case Fort Hood, allows for considerable cost savings.

"Both the 155th ABCT and our division have great separate working relationships with the 1st Cavalry Division," said Simpson. "So we are able to combine our organizations and build an even better relationship where we all work off each other's experiences."

As U.S. Army Forces Command's designated coordinating and implementation authority for the Army Total Force Policy, the First Army Division developed and sponsored the MIBT by integrating active and reserve component forces into a collective training event.

The policy sets the unit standards for total force unit readiness, focusing on leader development, integrating the Active and Reserve Components into collective unit training events, reducing post-mobilization training time and strengthening partnerships between active and reserve components commanders. 

This year's participating MIBT units are:

• Headquarters, 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard
• 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team, Mississippi Army National Guard
• 184th Sustainment Command, Mississippi Army National Guard
• 980th Engineering Battalion, Texas Army National Guard
• 75th Training Command, U.S. Army Reserve, Houston, Texas
• U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command of the U.S. Army Reserve, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
• 177th Combined Arms Training Brigade, U.S. Army's First Division East from Camp Shelby, Miss. 
• 188th Combined Arms Training Brigade, U.S. Army's First Division East from Camp Shelby, Miss.
• 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Army, Fort Hood, Texas